Generally, an electric vehicle collects power from an overhead line via a power collecting device and travels by driving an electric motor by the power. In recent years, with improvement of a performance of a power storage element such as a secondary battery and an electric double layer capacitor, a development of a system in which these are mounted on the electric vehicle and the electric vehicle travels by driving the electric motor by power from the power storage element has been progressed.
Conventionally, for example, in an electric vehicle control apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 described below, when power can be received from an overhead line (hereinafter, “in a normal condition”), an electric motor is driven by power from the overhead line similarly to a conventional electric railroad. On the other hand, when power cannot be received from the overhead line due to a power interruption of the overhead line or a failure of a power collecting device (hereinafter, “in an emergency condition”), it is configured such that the electric vehicle can travel to a nearest station by driving the electric motor by power from a power storage element so that the electric vehicle does not get stuck on a track between stations.
A traveling example by this electric vehicle control apparatus is as follows. In the normal condition, a pantograph that is the power collecting device is raised, power is collected from the overhead line, and the electric motor is driven to cause the electric vehicle to travel as an existing electric railroad. In the emergency condition, the pantograph is lowered, and the electric vehicle travels by power from the power storage element. When power can be received from the overhead line, power from the overhead line is charged to this power storage element by charge control, so that power of a predetermined capacity is maintained.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-014395